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H. H. C. DUNWOODY. ARMOR PIERCING SHELL. APPLICATION FILED MAR 22 1915 views, Figure snmon-r'mncmsisimtn To all-whom it mayconcern;

Be it known tl1al3.I HENRY-;H. ODD}?- u oonY,-;Bri'gadier. tirecl acitizen of the United at Washington, in the District oi Columb a, have invented certain new and: useful Improvements .in' Armor Piercing. Shells; and I lo hereb'ydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it apperta'i-ns to make and use the same. p

.This invention relates toaln'ror piercing shells for ordnance and has for its'o'bject to provide a shell which will be comparatively inexpensive to produce and more effective in use than those heretofore proposed.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel details of con-' struction and combinations of parts, more fully hereinafter disclosed and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification in which like numerals designate like parts in all the view of an armor piercingshell made in accordance with my invention;- and Fig. 2 is a. View similar to Fig. 1 illustrating a slightly modified form of the invention.

'1 indicates the body portion of any suitable shell, preferably provided with the chilled armor piercing point 2 and the soft steel cap 3. The cavity of the shell is made of two diameters as shown, substantial shoulder i between then'i. The larger or rear cavity 5 is filled with any suitable explos ve and the cavity 6 is preferably filled with a suitable high' explosive capable of being detonated after impact. Between the two cavities is the steel plug or block 7 firmly resting upon the shoulder 4 and provided with any suitable fuse 8', for exploding or detonating the compound in the cavity 6.

Since armor piercing shells of necessity.

must be put through a chilling or hardening process, more or less difficulty is experienced in getting a tight fit for the plug 7 in that if screw threads are formed on the interior of the cavity 5 before the hardening process they are apt to be distorted during the chilling operation and therefore. to not form as tight a joint as is desirable. in order to avoid the expense of. reshaping the. said screw threads after the hardening operation.

Sp'ccificaitmiibf Letter-s Iat'xit Application mamas,

I I l I I I mold' the-"cavities General, U. S. Army, 're-J States, residing 1 1s a diagrammatic sectional providing a forward or smaller as. w i.

im n when .nsos se y decreas s l e h' a aid i series-sine 1 ca e while the. shell is ube-. i ie into place, by means ofa llrydi aulie"jack; hen the said. tube 8 is may be readily screwed jammed tightly against the shoulderl. if desired a packing material 9 such as lead or other suitable material may be employed to insure that no gas leaks from the cavity 5 into the cavity ('3; A suitable basefuse 10 is employed to ignite the charge in the cavity 5 and it is preferred to 'use afuse 8' of the delay action type so that the explosion of the charge in the cavity (3 will come an instant later than the explosion of'the charge inf the cavity 5.

mice i ia iii-anagra 1.1

before, th liars-" ii -place the plug 7 into place .and

The operation of the shell will be clear the said cavity (3 whereupon the plug 7 and filling the plug 7 may be screwed firmly into place and the cavity 5 loaded. Upon impact the fuse-10 mavbe of such a character as to cause an explosion of the charge in cavity 5, which will have the effect of blowing off the rear of the shell and thereby adding an impulse to the penetration energy of the shell and causing the lat: ter to pierce more armor than-wouldotherwise be the case. An instant after impact the fuse 8" may be detonated or explode the charge (3 according to the character of the charge and the shell luwing had time to bury itself in the armor this second explosion will be largely utilized in further breaking up or shattering the armor. In order to facilitate the blowing off of the rear of the shell without destroying its penetrating qualities, I may provide the cavity 5 with a weakened portion such as 12, but such weakened portion is not essential to the operation of the invention.

The modified form shown in Fig. 2- is substantially the same as that shown in Fig. 1 except that the wind shield 13 is omitted but the general contour of the forward portion let'of the shell cap 13. Also the soft metal cap 2 is given a more tapered Shape cap 3 in Fig. 1.

15 in Fig. than is the The cavity 6 is readily is the same as that of the' resting on said shoulder and completely seption of a larger diameter and a forward 'portion of a'smaller diameter with an abrupt shoulder between said portions and a solid plug fitting gastight said larger portion,

aratinlg said POItlOIiSZ substantially as describe 3 a,

2. In an armor piercing shell having an integral body portion provided with a rear and a forward cavity of dilferent diameters the combination of an abrupt shoulder integral with said body portion separating said cavities; a screw threaded member near the forward end of the rear cavity; and 2.

solid closing plug engaging said screw threaded member and resting on said shoulder, substantially as described;

3. In a hardened armor piercing shell having an integral body portion provided with forward and rear cavities of difierent diameters, the combination of'an integral abrupt shoulder between said cavities; a hollow screw threaded member fitting the rear cavity and resting against said shoulder; a solid screw threadedplug fitting said hollow member and also resting against said shoulder; an explosive charge in each of said cavities; and means for igniting said charges, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof -I affix my signature.

HEJRY H. C. DUNWOODY. 

